Unrewarding
You may want to start redeeming stars if you’re deep into Starbucks’s market-leading reward scheme — some menu items will double in price from next Monday.
Some people have accused the chain of “greedflation” with customers now needing to spend twice as much in-store to get their hands on a complementary tea, coffee or snack in a clear sign that even “free” products aren’t immune to Starbucks price hikes.
Frothy sales
Free drinks, queue-skipping privileges, bonus days and even a birthday treat have kept the Starbucks Rewards members engaged, as it's grown into one of the largest loyalty programs in the country.
Indeed, since Starbucks started rewarding dollars spent in 2016 (rather than visits accrued) membership for the Starbucks Rewards program has rocketed. The coffee giant now counts some 30.4 million active members for the program in the US, meaning that ~12%, or nearly one-in-eight, American adults are loyal members of the club.
Starbucks loyalists may be particularly aggrieved by the changes considering that last quarter they netted the chain billions — a whopping 56% of total sales in US-operated stores came from Starbucks Rewards members last quarter. Now, with prices set to rise, their loyalty will really be tested.
